Cambridge Anglo Saxon Norse and Celtic (ASNC) Students and Applicants

(Original post by Crochet_Ninja)
Oh, and I forgot to way but it is possible to attend all the lectures you want for the first few weeks, to help you make up your mind. I didn't do that because I was pretty set on the modules I wanted to do, but several of my friends did it and thought it was a brilliant idea because it helped them narrow down their choices. Also, be prepared to change your mind after the induction course; I went from a pretty strong Germaniscist to en immensely strong Celticist in about 2 hours.

Definitely doing this. I still want to do *everything* so will need all the help I can get in narrowing it down.

Hmm... Not sure about track, mine updated only when I got my actual results in August, but I'm not sure what it's like for people already with results.

And Yay! Another Celticist. There are definitely more germanicists than Celticists; Adam (my college Dad and the only other ASNaC in Catz) is one. Whichever choice you make, you can always pick one up in second year. Most of the time I wish I'd done Latin instead of Norse, so I may change to that next year. Or do a dissertation... Another benefit to Paleography is that you get to handle all the manuscripts from the Parker library at Corpus Christi, which include things like the Anglo-Saxon chronicle etc. But a lot of the course is covered in the other subjects anyway, just in far less detail. If you like doodling, then they give you lots of pretty Celtic pictures to copy.

BiscuitGirl; Yes, I would definitely recommend this process of course selection. Just because you like the sound of the course, doesn't mean you won't feeling like screaming at the lecturer every now and again ( I have this problem with Norse).

In terms of finding books, it really doesn't matter what you've read before you arrive. Most of the original texts are available in ebook format for free on the internet. The Celt database; http://www.ucc.ie/celt/ is amazing for Celtic texts, not sure of what the Old english or norse equivalents would be though. I've found this website; https://notendur.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/ really useful to help me learn Old Norse, especially as I can't keep up with the teacher.

I would definitely recommend that you read Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica (even if you aren't specifically planning on doing Anglo-Saxon anything) because he comes up everywhere. Try to read Snorri's Edda for Norse and the Mabinogion for Welsh. Dr Russell prefers the Sioned Davies translation of the Mabinogion, but the basic Lady Charlotte Guest (free version) is fine until you get here. For Irish, I would recommend buying "Early Irish Myths and Sagas" by Jeffery Gantz which is on Amazon for about £2.96. This is the actual translation you will be using in classes, so it's worth the investment.

Other than that I don't know if there is much else to recommend... If you have any questions on more specific books or other modules, I can ask around. The courses I do are;

Middle Welsh,
Medieval Irish
Old Norse
Gaelic History
Brittonic History
Paleography and Codicology

(Original post by Crochet_Ninja)
Hmm... Not sure about track, mine updated only when I got my actual results in August, but I'm not sure what it's like for people already with results.

And Yay! Another Celticist. There are definitely more germanicists than Celticists; Adam (my college Dad and the only other ASNaC in Catz) is one. Whichever choice you make, you can always pick one up in second year. Most of the time I wish I'd done Latin instead of Norse, so I may change to that next year. Or do a dissertation... Another benefit to Paleography is that you get to handle all the manuscripts from the Parker library at Corpus Christi, which include things like the Anglo-Saxon chronicle etc. But a lot of the course is covered in the other subjects anyway, just in far less detail. If you like doodling, then they give you lots of pretty Celtic pictures to copy.

BiscuitGirl; Yes, I would definitely recommend this process of course selection. Just because you like the sound of the course, doesn't mean you won't feeling like screaming at the lecturer every now and again ( I have this problem with Norse).

In terms of finding books, it really doesn't matter what you've read before you arrive. Most of the original texts are available in ebook format for free on the internet. The Celt database; http://www.ucc.ie/celt/ is amazing for Celtic texts, not sure of what the Old english or norse equivalents would be though. I've found this website; https://notendur.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/ really useful to help me learn Old Norse, especially as I can't keep up with the teacher.

I would definitely recommend that you read Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica (even if you aren't specifically planning on doing Anglo-Saxon anything) because he comes up everywhere. Try to read Snorri's Edda for Norse and the Mabinogion for Welsh. Dr Russell prefers the Sioned Davies translation of the Mabinogion, but the basic Lady Charlotte Guest (free version) is fine until you get here. For Irish, I would recommend buying "Early Irish Myths and Sagas" by Jeffery Gantz which is on Amazon for about £2.96. This is the actual translation you will be using in classes, so it's worth the investment.

Other than that I don't know if there is much else to recommend... If you have any questions on more specific books or other modules, I can ask around. The courses I do are;

Middle Welsh,
Medieval Irish
Old Norse
Gaelic History
Brittonic History
Paleography and Codicology

Keep smiling,

Rebecca.

Awesome answer! Thanks so much!

OMG I LOVE CELTIC ART AND CALLIGRAPHY!!! I used to go to a special Social Sciences combined with Music/Drama/Art-program in (the equivalent of) sixth form where Art was my chosen subject so I'm naturally interested in the aesthetic part of Palaeography as well. That nugget of information certainly didn't make it any easier to decide between Latin and Palaeography D:

I've ordered three books already, and Early Irish Myths and Sagas was amongst one of them. I've currently just gotten through the introduction but if I wasn't working almost full-time I'd be reading it constantly. But now I know which books I'm going to order next time I have some money left over! :P

And my UCAS Track updated yesterday, which was extremely nice considering I still was not entirely convinced it really was an unconditional offer or if there had been some sort of mistake and I'd get an email from the Admissions coordinator saying that "Dear Emilia, there's been a mistake..." (I've had an email like that from her before xP)

Hey again fellow prospective (and confirmed ) ASNaCs! Just a quick question, did anyone remember reading anywhere that taking Latin required previous knowledge? I'm getting mixed signals! I believe on the Cambridge website under the paper description it states that a rather indepth knowledge is required, but in the prospectus it says no knowledge is needed or expected of the subject. I ask because my Latin isn't going, well, swimmingly but I'd still love to take it. I'm looking at a very much history based degree here but some language is compulsory and Latin is one I've always liked the look of.

(Original post by Tom Grant)
Hey again fellow prospective (and confirmed ) ASNaCs! Just a quick question, did anyone remember reading anywhere that taking Latin required previous knowledge? I'm getting mixed signals! I believe on the Cambridge website under the paper description it states that a rather indepth knowledge is required, but in the prospectus it says no knowledge is needed or expected of the subject. I ask because my Latin isn't going, well, swimmingly but I'd still love to take it. I'm looking at a very much history based degree here but some language is compulsory and Latin is one I've always liked the look of.

I have been wondering the very same thing! I read a year of Latin while in the Swedish equivalent of sixth form but it was more than two years ago so saying I'm a bit rusty now is an understatement. But I would very much like to continue with Latin if I can! This is what they say on the ASNC-page:
"Many students taking this paper have at least GCSE or A level Latin. However, it is also possible to take it without previous knowledge of Latin, as classes for beginners are offered in all three terms of the first year. Such beginners are strongly advised not to take Insular Latin for Prelims."

But your appointed Director of Studies will definitely know what's required and can advise you whether you should choose Latin or not.

(Original post by Tom Grant)
Hey again fellow prospective (and confirmed ) ASNaCs! Just a quick question, did anyone remember reading anywhere that taking Latin required previous knowledge? I'm getting mixed signals! I believe on the Cambridge website under the paper description it states that a rather indepth knowledge is required, but in the prospectus it says no knowledge is needed or expected of the subject. I ask because my Latin isn't going, well, swimmingly but I'd still love to take it. I'm looking at a very much history based degree here but some language is compulsory and Latin is one I've always liked the look of.

Hi, as a current student I can confirm that there are plenty of people who have never done any Latin or only done a little (myself included). Lots of schools simply don't offer it, so they're in no position to require it. It is however very useful to know and ASNC runs really good beginners' Latin classes that are suitable for people who are new to the language. Hope this helps!

Hi, as a current student I can confirm that there are plenty of people who have never done any Latin or only done a little (myself included). Lots of schools simply don't offer it, so they're in no position to require it. It is however very useful to know and ASNC runs really good beginners' Latin classes that are suitable for people who are new to the language. Hope this helps!

Hey there! Thanks for your post, it put my mind at ease. I almost gave up Latin knowing that I wouldn't reach A-level standard in the months I have left. Do you mean to say it's okay to take the Latin paper in the first year with only a base knowledge of the language?

(Original post by Tom Grant)
Hey there! Thanks for your post, it put my mind at ease. I almost gave up Latin knowing that I wouldn't reach A-level standard in the months I have left. Do you mean to say it's okay to take the Latin paper in the first year with only a base knowledge of the language?

Also as a general question, how are you finding studying the subject?

Yes, you can even do it having done no Latin at all which was the case for a couple of people, though obviously you will have to apply yourself more. Ros Love does beginner's Latin classes and she's fantastic, and you do all the grammar from the beginning though it is pretty intensive!
I've enjoyed the first couple of years, be prepared to work pretty hard but you really will pick up some great skills. The ASNC department are great, and the closest knit of any I know in Cambridge. I am however likely to switch subject after this year to Archaeology so maybe not the best person to ask! But that's only because I don't think third year is for me, and not because ASNC has been disappointing and I don't regret taking it at all! If you or anyone else has any other questions feel free to PM me

Well thank you very much! I was very keen to study Latin but learning from a book doesn't quite cut it for me. I wouldn't have made it, but these classes sound just the thing! It's not so much a problem with the other languages as there is no prerequisite knowledge, for obvious reasons. That takes some of the pressure off those, but I'm guessing the learning process will still be grueling!

Well now with that worry out of the way I'm REALLY looking forward to meeting everyone and studying something I am so very passionate about. I get my King's robes in a month too

(Original post by Tom Grant)
Congratulations on your unconditional! I'm still a little dazzled by the whole experience I must admit, but I'm very much looking forward to studying the subject!

I met the parents of an interviewee when I came out of my own interview, and reassured them that their daughter would be fine! Other than that I haven't seen any students or applicants which is a shame, but that's what you get with a niche subject I suppose! Likewise I haven't seen any other offer holders or applicants to King's. I'm guessing you were accepted by Pembroke then? I was a little surprised to find you had a general interview! I traveled all the way to Cambridge for a twenty minute subject interview and that was it. I thought my interview was a disaster but luckily I suppose I was wrong! My language skills aren't great and I didn't take a language at A level; and so they conveniently decided to make me writhe under my limited knowledge of Latin! I was also dismayed when they pulled out a source, as nothing had been said of it prior to the interview. I think it was my decent source analysis which pulled me through however. I'm more of a history person! I'm guessing you'll mould your degree so it's more language orientated?

I only wish my gap year sounded as exciting as yours! I'm doing some voluntary work at my local museum which houses a number of Anglo-Saxon and Norse exhibits. Other than that I'll be reading up on every history period offered and be learning Latin, which as yet is progressing... slowly. Although in a different ways and means, I will also be living the life of the ASNaC dork!

But to future applicants, the interview process as I experienced it was very friendly. Yes, on those YouTube mock-up Cambridge interviews you get comfy chairs, but the interviewers are sat at the other end of the room and still look pretty intimidating. I entered a small room and me and two lecturers sat in a circle on some stools and essentially chatted about my interest, experiences and suitability for the subject. Some of my questions were pressing - it's an interview - but it's important to be relaxed. A good interviewer will no doubt relax you, in any case, as my interviewers did. I would go as far as to say my excessive formality was unnecessary! Just get lots of reading done for context, don't worry about exam performance too much (if they give up their time for you, they appreciate that your predicted/attained grades are at least sufficient!) and for god's sake don't lie on your personal statement, it can get you in a sticky situation!

Sorry to butt in, but by any chance was your interview on the 5th December, Tom? If so, I think it may have been my mom you spoke to! ^^; I have a conditional offer from Trinity Hall. =]

Yeah my interview was on the 5th (carved in to my memory now haha!) Was yours in the afternoon, about 3ish? And awesome, I'm glad you have an offer I kept my fingers crossed for you because I was white as a sheep having come out and you'd only just gone in! What happened in your interview? And I think your mum mentioned something about you learning Latin this year? How's that going?

Hi there I only found out recently about this course and I think it's absolutely great !
If I get the required grades at my bac (I study in France), I may apply for it ... but as this course is so specific and I don't really know what I want to do with my life, I'm hesitating and I could really use a piece of advice ...

What courses did you guys apply for besides this one ? As I've been studying Chinese for 3 years and I'm taking a gap year to Beijing, I thought of applying for Chinese, but then I realised studying Chinese in England wouldn't make a lot of sense ... or would it ? And I don't know if I like Chinese/China as much as I love European History, literature and languages. Plus, I wouldn't know how to write a personal statement for both Chinese and ASNC. So maybe I'll apply for History and a modern language, at Durham for example, instead of Chinese ...

What do you think ?

And congratulations to everyone who got an offer ! This is so amazing !

It was about 4 I think. =) Awh, thankyew - I was white as a sheep going in! That whole day is just a massive blur for me. We started off with history which I didn't think was too bad: I had an excerpt from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and we talked about the partiality of the author, though I can't remember for the life of me which battle it was, or who was fighting, lul! Then we moved on to literature and we were talking about the influence of Homer on poems like the Battle of Maldon, because that was something I'd written about in my personal statement. Then came the languages, which were just awful xD I didn't do a language at GCSE, so by the time we got to the inflections of pronouns I felt like I was blundering about with a bucket on my head. It wasn't hugely encouraging!!

Yeah, my Classical Civilisation teacher was putting on lessons but it's been a pretty chaotic year: she's been off with stress since January, so the Latin kind of died a death xD. I want to try and teach myself a little over the summer, if I can, but I don't think I'll be very successful. It's a language I'd really love to learn, so it's kind've encouraging to know someone else wants to do it without an A-level base. If I get the grades - and that's a big if at the moment, lul - we can muddle through together =D.

How was your interview? I told my mom I thought I'd found you on here and she was very chuffed, heh!

I applied for History at all my other universities if that's any help at all, Bambirina. =) I know some people who applied for completely different subjects though, like History and Maths, so it definitely can be done if that's what you want! ^^

(Original post by Bambirina)
Hi there I only found out recently about this course and I think it's absolutely great !
If I get the required grades at my bac (I study in France), I may apply for it ... but as this course is so specific and I don't really know what I want to do with my life, I'm hesitating and I could really use a piece of advice ...

What courses did you guys apply for besides this one ? As I've been studying Chinese for 3 years and I'm taking a gap year to Beijing, I thought of applying for Chinese, but then I realised studying Chinese in England wouldn't make a lot of sense ... or would it ? And I don't know if I like Chinese/China as much as I love European History, literature and languages. Plus, I wouldn't know how to write a personal statement for both Chinese and ASNC. So maybe I'll apply for History and a modern language, at Durham for example, instead of Chinese ...

What do you think ?

And congratulations to everyone who got an offer ! This is so amazing !

Heya,

Firstly, everyone has the smae problem in that Cambridge is the only university that offers ASNC (unless you do Celtic studies or Viking studies which again aren't common), so, they know that your personal statement has to cover other courses. The other thing you should know is that on the Cambridge Supplementary Application Questionnaire (I presume they still do it, I'm a third-year) there's a section to write an additional personal statement. What you do therefore is do your personal statement for whatever else you're applying for, possibly with a bit of a medieval slant, and then use the extra section to write specifically for ASNaC.

I applied for German and Linguistics elsewhere, so it wasn't too hard to talk about language and literature in general and my love of etymology. For Chinese it might be a wee bit more tricky, but you could maybe bring in the literature/culture side. If you can, see if you can hop across the channel to the ASNaC open day later this month, where you can meet the lecturers and ask qs about this sort of thing. Other than that, feel free to ask more questions on here - there are enough of us current students lurking from all 3 undergraduate years who've been through it!

Firstly, everyone has the smae problem in that Cambridge is the only university that offers ASNC (unless you do Celtic studies or Viking studies which again aren't common), so, they know that your personal statement has to cover other courses. The other thing you should know is that on the Cambridge Supplementary Application Questionnaire (I presume they still do it, I'm a third-year) there's a section to write an additional personal statement. What you do therefore is do your personal statement for whatever else you're applying for, possibly with a bit of a medieval slant, and then use the extra section to write specifically for ASNaC.

I applied for German and Linguistics elsewhere, so it wasn't too hard to talk about language and literature in general and my love of etymology. For Chinese it might be a wee bit more tricky, but you could maybe bring in the literature/culture side. If you can, see if you can hop across the channel to the ASNaC open day later this month, where you can meet the lecturers and ask qs about this sort of thing. Other than that, feel free to ask more questions on here - there are enough of us current students lurking from all 3 undergraduate years who've been through it!

Hope that helps - good luck!

Hannah

Oh great ! Thank you for your help, that was very useful !

So now that you're in 3rd year, what are your impressions about the course ? What are you planning on doing after you graduate ?
Do you have any tip, anything you wish you knew before you applied for/started the course ?

It was about 4 I think. =) Awh, thankyew - I was white as a sheep going in! That whole day is just a massive blur for me. We started off with history which I didn't think was too bad: I had an excerpt from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and we talked about the partiality of the author, though I can't remember for the life of me which battle it was, or who was fighting, lul! Then we moved on to literature and we were talking about the influence of Homer on poems like the Battle of Maldon, because that was something I'd written about in my personal statement. Then came the languages, which were just awful xD I didn't do a language at GCSE, so by the time we got to the inflections of pronouns I felt like I was blundering about with a bucket on my head. It wasn't hugely encouraging!!

Yeah, my Classical Civilisation teacher was putting on lessons but it's been a pretty chaotic year: she's been off with stress since January, so the Latin kind of died a death xD. I want to try and teach myself a little over the summer, if I can, but I don't think I'll be very successful. It's a language I'd really love to learn, so it's kind've encouraging to know someone else wants to do it without an A-level base. If I get the grades - and that's a big if at the moment, lul - we can muddle through together =D.

How was your interview? I told my mom I thought I'd found you on here and she was very chuffed, heh!

I applied for History at all my other universities if that's any help at all, Bambirina. =) I know some people who applied for completely different subjects though, like History and Maths, so it definitely can be done if that's what you want! ^^

Ugh same, I got to Cambridge about 11 so I just spent the whole day looking at how lovely the city was and the thought that I probably wasn't gonna go there was heartbreaking lol! Oh crazy you must've done the same article as me, was it the one about the battle at Chester and the priest? That came right at the end of my interview, but I didn't expect them to whip out a source so I was a bit shocked by it! I think it was one of the better parts of my interview though haha! Although, they asked me where the battle happened (it said Chester nice and clear in the excerpt!) and because I was looking too far in to it I was theorising for like a minute where it could've happened, facepalm! Ahh that sounds cool, so they went in to your personal statement a bit and it wasn't all language/history? I said I visited Sutton Hoo ages ago and they asked me about it, truth be told I went like 2 weeks before the interview well after my statement was in! Still it was lucky 'cos it was fresh in the mind Ooh god I was kinda in your boat then, I went to a crap secondary school and only ended up doing a foundation course in French, so my language skills were awful as well. They asked me to translate a phrase which was '*interviewer* is killing Tom', then the other chipped in 'killing being the operative word'. They knew they were grilling me and that wasn't very encouraging haha! Still, it must've gone okay for both of us

Ahh bugger that's not good, your teacher being off :\ bet that's thrown a spanner in the works! And hey teaching yourself is a great idea, but it is pretty challenging! A book called Latin Demystified is very good and puts it in a simple, friendly format (it's just not possible to learn a language all Victorian-style!) It takes you all up to A level, err, level, but I'm up to about GCSE at the mo! So you can get a lot done but having a teacher is an absolute godsend. Yeah haha we'll have to suffer through it together, I'm gonna call Latin quits this year and focus on the history reading side, so we'll both have lots to get through when we get there And I'm sure you'll get there The hardest part is getting in, and they must believe in you! Sorry for the mini novel I just wrote as a response! It's nice to catch up with someone who went through the same thing though.

(Original post by Bambirina)
Oh great ! Thank you for your help, that was very useful !

So now that you're in 3rd year, what are your impressions about the course ? What are you planning on doing after you graduate ?
Do you have any tip, anything you wish you knew before you applied for/started the course ?

My impressions: it was quite hard to settle into it for me, mostly as I wasn't a fan of literature and tbh hadn't read much medieval lit. before coming - it's taken me nearly 3 years to get properly into it... But I loved the languages right from the start. Probably an idea to have a read of some stuff, Beowulf, The Mabinogion if you're into Celtic stuff, some Sagas, to see if you like them - though they often make much more sense when you've read the scholarship anyway! I think the most important thing is to be really really passionate about the subject and to keep reminding yourself that you are - I've definitely had ups and downs, but this year has been brilliant and most people I know are mad about the course.

After I graduate... grades permitting, I'm staying here next year to do a Masters in the same field (connections between Middle Welsh and Old English literature if you're interested).

Any more qs keep 'em coming, it's great to see so much interest in the course

(Original post by Haz1248)
My impressions: it was quite hard to settle into it for me, mostly as I wasn't a fan of literature and tbh hadn't read much medieval lit. before coming - it's taken me nearly 3 years to get properly into it... But I loved the languages right from the start. Probably an idea to have a read of some stuff, Beowulf, The Mabinogion if you're into Celtic stuff, some Sagas, to see if you like them - though they often make much more sense when you've read the scholarship anyway! I think the most important thing is to be really really passionate about the subject and to keep reminding yourself that you are - I've definitely had ups and downs, but this year has been brilliant and most people I know are mad about the course.

After I graduate... grades permitting, I'm staying here next year to do a Masters in the same field (connections between Middle Welsh and Old English literature if you're interested).

Any more qs keep 'em coming, it's great to see so much interest in the course

Thank you again !

I actually love literature, and this is also why I'd like to apply for ASNaC. I don't want to give up on History, neither on languages nor literature ...
I don't know much about Anglo-Saxon/Norse/Celtic medieval lit but I know about French and Italian medieval lit - I'm French and Italian, which helps. I'll definitely do more reading once I'll be done with my bac !

So, if you haven't done much reading before, what did you talk about at the interview ?
I'm worried I just won't be able to seem smart in front of such ... impressive teachers, if that makes sense.
Are there many non-native English speakers among ASNaC students ? I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up because I'll need more time to write stylish essays and stuff like that ...

They asked you to translate? Sounds terrifying, I'd have gone to pieces if they'd sprung anything like that on me! Yeah, it's been a pretty stressful couple of months, lul. But exams are all done now so I'm trying not to think about it too much =]. I think I may have actually already taken that book out of the library; I don't think I'll make a whole lot of progress but it can't hurt to try and learn a little beforehand. I'll probably focus more on the history, too. ^^ Don't worry, I'm chuffed that I've found a fellow ASNaCker! I did a summer school in Cambridge last year and I know two of the other people from that got offers, so fingers crossed I get there. =]

I don't know if anyone who's already on the course could help me with this, but I've read that it's possible to incorporate an archaeology paper; can anyone give me any info on this? Is it in Part 1 or Part 2 of the Tripos, and does it work well with the conventional history, literature and language papers? All the papers sound so interesting, I've got no idea which I would choose!

(Original post by DiscontentLlama)
They asked you to translate? Sounds terrifying, I'd have gone to pieces if they'd sprung anything like that on me! Yeah, it's been a pretty stressful couple of months, lul. But exams are all done now so I'm trying not to think about it too much =]. I think I may have actually already taken that book out of the library; I don't think I'll make a whole lot of progress but it can't hurt to try and learn a little beforehand. I'll probably focus more on the history, too. ^^ Don't worry, I'm chuffed that I've found a fellow ASNaCker! I did a summer school in Cambridge last year and I know two of the other people from that got offers, so fingers crossed I get there. =]

I don't know if anyone who's already on the course could help me with this, but I've read that it's possible to incorporate an archaeology paper; can anyone give me any info on this? Is it in Part 1 or Part 2 of the Tripos, and does it work well with the conventional history, literature and language papers? All the papers sound so interesting, I've got no idea which I would choose!

Hey to answer your question about the archaeology paper you can borrow Anglo-Saxon Archaeology or Scandinavian archaeology in 2nd and 3rd year as one of your options. 20% of the paper is a practical project. You can't do both in one year as I tried to do though. I would recommend it, I enjoyed my borrowed paper so much that I'm now switching to do my part II in archaeology! That said it is taught very differently and you may find that they also see things from a different perspective in the archaeology department, which doesn't suit some people but can be very interesting for others!